Capítulo 14: The Railway

Lucas and Stella ran as far as their feet could possibly take them. The spider had an arrow sticking out of its leg now, as well as its neck.

Rage flared in its eyes. It was determined to get Lucas. It jumped off the building and flew through the air, and landed fifty yards away from them. It wasn't as fast as it was before. It was limping, which greater hindered its movement. It wasn't used to walking without one of its legs, but it was still faster than them, and it was closing the distance.

Lucas knew they couldn't get away from it just by running. The spider was too fast for them. They needed and alternate route.

He grabbed Stella's arm and pulled her to the side. They were now running toward a building. It was an old abandoned car dealership. There were still cars outside, most likely inoperable.

They bursted through the front door and closed it behind them. The front of the building was built of mostly glass. It was tinted on the outside, so the spider couldn't see them, but they could see the spider speeding toward them. They ran to the back of the dealership and ran into one of the rooms. They heard glass shatter as the door clicked shut.

The baby had been crying, but Stella pressed it's face into her bosom to make the child stop quiet down. She rubbed the baby's back softly and shushed it as a mother would do.

They hid in a corner of the room and stayed quiet. The baby's crying also softened to a whimper. Lucas could hear the spider. It's disgusting legs crawling around outside the door. It was searching.

He heard a sudden crash. A door had been blown off its hinges across from their room. It was searching the rooms one by one until it found them. Lucas had to think of something quick!

He searched his pockets, trying to see if there was anything he could use. He suddenly found the watch. It was still dirty, but it was reflective. That's all he needed.

Lucas turned to Stella and whispered in her ear.

(Lucas: "Get ready to follow behind me.")

Lucas shifted over toward the door and cracked it open an inch. He stuck the watch out the door and angled it so he could see where the spider was.

He heard the legs crawling around. It calmly hissed as it walked out the room it just burst into. It didn't see the watch and it went to the next door. It clawed at the door for a second, before backing up slowly. It winded itself up first, before springing right into the door.

With a loud bang, the door flew open, and the spider walked into the room. Now! Stella was behind Lucas, and he swung the door open, but made sure it didn't hit the wall. They ran in the opposite direction toward a wall that had a sign on it. "Parts department."

They ran through a painted blue metal door and slammed it shut. The spider shrieked. It had heard them running and it came out from the room.

Lucas and Stella were now in a large open room with columns of shelves. There were so many things in the room, it was hard to process, but they continued along not missing anything else. They needed to escape.

They ran through the columns. It was dark, but there was some natural light coming from somewhere which illuminated the room. They found a garage door operated by a chain. Lucas started pulling the chain, and Stella waited for the door to raise.

They could hear the spider trying to break through the metal door.

The spider was winding up another sprint, but then it stopped. It calmly approached the door, and pushed on it with its leg like it had seen Lucas and Stella do.

The haunting noise of the door creaking open echoed throughout the room. Lucas began pulling harder. The garage was open enough for both of them to slip through.

The spider emerged from down one column. It was running at them, shelves being pushed over in its wake.

They got through the garage and Lucas pulled it down. With a loud bang, Lucas was thrown back. The spider had ran head-first right into the garage, and the impact knocked Lucas onto his back.

(Lucas: "Augh!")

Stella lent a hand to Lucas, but he waved it off saying he was fine. He got back on his feet and gathered himself. He was panting, exhausted by all the running, especially because he had that damn gallon bottle of water on his back still.

There was a sudden terrifying revelation. They looked at the bottom of the garage. Two spider legs stuck out of the bottom, and they curled up, clinging onto it.

They began to run once again. There was a road just outside the department, and Lucas spotted a manhole. He ran over to it and lifted the heavy lid off and threw it to the side.

He looked back at the garage. Only for a second, but it was long enough to bare witness to the spider pulling it up, and giving itself leeway to crawl under.

(Lucas: "Hurry! Jump down there!")

He called out to Stella. She quickly got her body down the hole and fell to the bottom, landing on her feet. The spider was now coming after Lucas. It wasn't very far at all. He tried jumping down the hole, but something he hadn't accounted for got him stuck. It was that damned bottle! He got out of the hole and untied the bottle, but in the moment, it was like he'd never gotten a knot loose in is life. He couldn't untie it! He pulled out his knife and began slicing through the rope. He screamed in agitation and dread.

He sliced through the rope and the bottle fell off his back. He took the time to roll it into and down the hole. He heard it hit the solid ground down below, when he suddenly felt a familiar sensation.

His vision spun around wildly, and his head hit the ground. He had no body to break the fall.

He tried moving his mouth, but he had no jaw to open. His head had been cut horizontally above his jaw, and below his nose.

Tears flowed out of his eyes. He squeezed his eyes closed. The pain was too much to bear. His vision was completely dark, and when he opened his eyes again, he was back on his body. The spider had watched in awe as his head flaked away, and it set its sights upon him once again. Lucas dived into the manhole, the spider missing him by less than an inch. He hit the solid ground hard. He heard bones crack, but he didn't react to it. It was nothing compared to having his head cut off above the jaw.

He felt the bones repair themselves, and the spider stuck its legs down the manhole. It was too large to fit down there. It would have to find another way in. They were safe. For now.

Stella was sat down against a wall. She looked at Lucas as if she had seen a ghost.

(Lucas: "What's wrong?")

Stella shuddered. Lucas' mind raced. Had she seen him get his head get cut off? Did she know he was immortal?

(Stella: "When you didn't come down after me, I thought it got you.")

Lucas relaxed his body, and sighed.

(Lucas: "I'm completely fine. Just look at me!")

She nodded.

(Stella: "I don't want to be here anymore.")

(Lucas: "I know, I don't either. We'll find a way out soon. I swear.")

Lucas picked up the bottle and helped Stella up. They ventured down the circular sewer pipes. It was dry in there, and it had no particular smell.

Lucas lit a match, which that alone overpowered any faint smell in the sewer. You could just tell it hadn't been used in decades.

They walked for some time when there was an abrupt end to the sewer. It wasn't blocked off, but something had been constructed through the sewer system. They stepped out of the pipe and looked around. Stella stepped on something solid and smooth. Lucas lowered the match to see.

It was… a track? A train track. They were in an underground railway that had been crudely constructed through the sewer systems.

Giant pillars held the ceiling up, and the tracks spanned miles ahead.

(Stella: "What's that?")

She pointed at something on the opposite side of them. It was hard to see, as it was very dark, but when they approached, it was a very clear sign. The number "21," was painted on the wall, and there was an arrow right below it pointing left.

(Lucas: "Oh my god.")

They began walking with a purpose to the left. They headed down that way for at least a mile before they saw something in the distance. It was a white light. As they approached, they saw a ledge. They climbed up onto the ledge and they saw what appeared to be a subway station. In the middle was a staircase down.

They walked down that way before they eventually came across an elevator. Above it was a giant "21." The only button it had said "down" on it. Stella pressed the button, and they immediately heard a bell ring, and it slowly slid open.

They had made it. They were at Unit-Twenty one.